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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Provision of water services: operational matters - Development contributions - Development contributions policy

127: Agreement to administer development contributions policy

You could also call this:

"Agreement for council to help manage water organisation's development contributions"

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

You can have a water organisation and a territorial authority work together to manage development contributions. They make a written agreement that says the territorial authority will help with some or all of the water organisation's development contributions policy. You need this agreement for the territorial authority to do this work.

When they make this agreement, it must say what parts of the policy the territorial authority will manage and what parts the water organisation will manage. It must also say how much the water organisation will pay the territorial authority for doing this work. The agreement must include a plan for recovering costs, as outlined in section 136, which ensures you do not pay more than the actual costs.

The agreement can be changed, but only if both parties agree. The territorial authority cannot decide the outcome of a reconsideration requested under section 131 or be a party to any proceedings related to an objection made under section 133. If they make an agreement, the territorial authority must give the collected development contributions to the water organisation as soon as possible and make the agreement publicly available.

Administering a development contributions policy includes tasks like assessing applications and determining development contributions. It also includes invoicing developers, managing postponed payments, and collecting outstanding amounts. The territorial authority must transfer any collected development contributions to the water organisation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1004461.

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Part 3Provision of water services: operational matters
Development contributions: Development contributions policy

127Agreement to administer development contributions policy

  1. A water organisation and a territorial authority in whose district the organisation’s service area is located may enter into a written agreement for the territorial authority to administer all or any part of the water organisation’s development contributions policy on behalf of the organisation.

  2. A territorial authority must not administer any part of a water organisation’s development contributions policy unless they have entered into a written agreement under this section.

  3. An agreement under this section must specify—

  4. which parts of the development contributions policy the territorial authority will administer; and
    1. which parts of the development contributions policy (if any) the water organisation will administer; and
      1. what the water organisation will pay the territorial authority for its administering activities under the agreement; and
        1. the approach to recovering costs under section 136, which must ensure that—
          1. a person is not required to pay more than the actual and reasonable costs; and
            1. a water organisation and a territorial authority do not attempt to recover the same costs.

            2. An agreement under this section—

            3. may be amended only by agreement of the parties to the agreement; and
              1. must not provide for the territorial authority to—
                1. decide the outcome of a reconsideration requested under section 131; or
                  1. be a party to any proceedings in relation to an objection made under section 133.

                  2. If a water organisation and a territorial authority enter into an agreement,—

                  3. the territorial authority must provide the development contributions it collects to the water organisation as soon as is reasonably practicable; and
                    1. the parties to the agreement must make the agreement publicly available.

                      1. For the purposes of this section, administering a development contributions policy includes—

                      2. assessing an application for resource consent or building consent against the water organisation’s development contributions policy and determining the amount of development contributions (if any) the developer is required to pay; and
                        1. determining the level of development contributions a developer is required to pay when applying for approval of a water service connection; and
                          1. invoicing a developer for development contributions; and
                            1. administering any postponed payments of a development contribution; and
                              1. collecting any outstanding amounts of development contributions, including taking any debt recovery steps; and
                                1. administering the reconsideration process; and
                                  1. administering the objection process; and
                                    1. transferring any development contributions that are paid to the territorial authority to the water organisation.